“What we’re really missing is a coordinated global effort that is commensurate with the scale and the size of the issue” of FGM and child marriage, she said. “With 14 million girls married each year, a handful of individual projects around the world are simply not enough to make a dent in that problem.”

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The need for better coordination and accountability was echoed by Lyric Thompson, co-chair of the Girls Not Brides-USA coalition, a foundation that co-sponsored Tuesday’s Girl Summit here in Washington.

“If we are going to end child marriage in a generation, as the Girl Summit charter challenges us to do, that is going to mean a much more robust effort than what is currently happening,” Thompson told IPS. “A few small programmes, no matter how effective, will not end the practice.”

“If America is serious about ending this practice in a generation, this means not just speeches and a handful of [foreign aid] programmes, but also the hard work of ensuring that American diplomats are negotiating with their counterparts in countries where the practice is widespread,” she says.

“It also means being directly involved in difficult U.N. negotiations, including the ones now determining the post-2015 development agenda, to ensure a target on ending child, early and forced marriage is included under a gender equality goal.”

In its gay rights rulings, she told a law school audience last week, the court uses the soaring language of “equal dignity” and has endorsed the fundamental values of “liberty and equality.” Indeed, a court that just three decades ago allowed criminal prosecutions for gay sex now speaks with sympathy for gay families and seems on the cusp of embracing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

But in cases involving gender, she said, the court has never fully embraced “the ability of women to decide for themselves what their destiny will be.” She said the court’s five-justice conservative majority, all men, did not understand the challenges women face in achieving authentic equality.

It was great to listen to the numerous pledges, funding commitments and policy announcements, but with most delegates now gone and the media's attention for the most part turned to other things, now is the time to reflect on the long journey to the Girl Summit.

The summit marked a turning point for FGM and child marriagecampaigners. However, we need to ask ourselves whether this will lead to lasting change. Changing centuries-old social norms can only happen at community level, and to end these practices within a generation, we need to address the missing links from the Girl Summit as a matter of urgency.

A standing-room only crowd attended the Senate Judiciary Committee’s first (ever!) hearing on guns and domestic violence on Wednesday morning; when the door opened, one could hear that there were people out in the hall as well. Under discussion were S. 1290, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)’s Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act, and S. 2483, freshman Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)’s Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act. Both were presented as extensions of the Violence Against Women Act, which was reauthorized last year.

Klobuchar’s bill would do two things: extend domestic violence protections to include “dating partners” or others “similarly situated to a spouse,” and make it illegal for convicted stalkers to own guns. Blumenthal’s would prevent gun purchases or possession by abusers under temporary restraining orders—the kind of order a woman can get from a judge while waiting for a more permanent restraining order, and is explicitly designed to protect women in the first hours and days after they leave abusive partners by authorizing police to immediately remove all guns from their abusers’ possession. Like Klobuchar’s bill, Blumenthal’s would cover dating partners as well as victims who had been living with or married to their abusers.

August 1,2014, In December 2013 Michelle Bachelet won a landslide victory in the first ever presidential race between two women candidates, giving her a second term in the top decision making position in Chile. AWID spoke to feminist Sociologist Teresa Valdés, Coordinator for Chile's Gender and Equity Watch, about women's expectations and challenges to be addressed.

Many of these women come from hours away, one from a little town on the Kentucky border that’s a seven-hour drive. They don’t know much about Dr. Parker. They don’t know that he grew up a few hours away in Birmingham, the second youngest son of a single mother who raised six children on food stamps and welfare, so poor that he taught himself to read by a kerosene lamp and went to the bathroom in an outhouse; that he was born again in his teenage years and did a stint as a boy preacher in Baptist churches; that he became the first black student-body president of a mostly white high school, went on to Harvard and a distinguished career as a college professor and obstetrician who delivered thousands of babies and refused to do abortions. They certainly don’t know about the “come to Jesus” moment, as he pointedly describes it, when he decided to give up his fancy career to become an abortion provider. Or that, at fifty-one, having resigned a prestigious job as medical director of Planned Parenthood, he’s preparing to move back south and take over a circuit roughly similar—for safety reasons, he won’t be more specific—to the one traveled by Dr. David Gunn before an antiabortion fanatic assassinated him in 1993. Or that his name and home address have been published by an antiabortion Web site with the unmistakable intent of terrorizing doctors like him. Or that he receives threats that say, “You’ve been warned.” Or that he refuses to wear a bulletproof vest, because he doesn’t want to live in fear—”if I’m that anxious, they’ve already taken my life”—but owns a stun gun because a practical man has to take precautions. What they do know is this:

He is the doctor who is going to stop them from being pregnant.

The profile captures Dr. Parker’s motivation for doing this work and the great care and empathy he brings to it. It also offers a rare glimpse into what actually happens at an abortion clinic and shows the huge diversity among the stories of the dozens of women Dr. Parker helps each day. You should really read the rest here.

In a series of tweets, the journalist explained exactly why his comments were so dangerous. She opened up about her own experience being stabbed by an abusive partner, and revealed the victim-blaming she suffered -- even from her own family.

On top of the physical abuse, Taylor was also financially abused by her partner. According to her testimony, he made her turn over her paycheck each week and would not allow her to have a credit card, a common tactic used by abusers to control and isolate their victims.

Here are a selection of Taylor's tweets; visit her twitter feed to read the entire conversation.

The last few weeks have seen numerous reports on the growing number ofunaccompanied minors seeking entry to the United States through the Mexican border. The reasons for the uptick in crossings are numerous and complex, and, like the question of whether the children meet the definition of refugees, are not the focus of this post. My question here is a simpler one: whether the adjudication mechanisms under consideration in response to this crisis afford these children a fair hearing focused on a determination of credible fear and other harm which, if identified, would trigger international protection. If the contemplated changes do not comport with a good faith application of the principle of non-refoulement, we run the risk that the U.S. will be in breach of its international obligations.

A “fast-track” process eases the short-term administrative and resource burden at the risk of returning children in need of protection, and would violate the principle of non-refoulement. Non-refoulement, or a prohibition on forcible return, compels States to ensure that no person is forcibly returned to a place where they face persecution,torture or inhuman treatment. In the context of refugee law, States have an obligation of non-refoulement until a negative refugee status determination has been made and States have a good faith obligation to ensure that this takes place. Refoulement can be explicit or it can be constructive, but the UNHCR has stated that it applies at the border, even before an entry is made.

Bishop Robert Vasa sent a letter to parishioners explaining the Catholic Church’s latest molestation settlement. This was obviously done in hopes of encouraging people to still donate to capital campaigns in the diocese.

He wrote: “Many think the church or I as bishop has the ability to definitively root out every hint of this type of perversity. This however is a task beyond any human power. We will only accomplish this through prayer and works of penance such as fasting and giving of alms to the poor. In short, it will only happen through each of us working first for the conversion of our own hearts and then for the wider renewal of the church. When through conversion every heart has redoubled its resolve to avoid every occasion of sin, that is the day we need no longer worry about another of these terrible horror stories happening.”

Say what?

Vasa, in a transparent attempt to dodge responsibility, pretends there’s no church hierarchy. That’s convenient now, but how come he speaks with the authority of the apostles when it’s time to tell lay Catholics how we must live? Sorry, the diocesan capital campaign will not receive a cent from me. I will continue to donate only to my parish.

Using #LikeAGirl as an insult is a hard knock against any adolescent girl. And since the rest of puberty's really no picnic either, it's easy to see what a huge impact it can have on a girl's self-confidence.

We're kicking off an epic battle to make sure that girls everywhere keep their confidence throughout puberty and beyond, and making a start by showing them that doing it #LikeAGirl is an awesome thing.

"In my work as a documentarian, I have witnessed the confidence crisis among girls and the negative impact of stereotypes first-hand," said Lauren Greenfield, filmmaker and director of the #LikeAGirl video. "When the words 'like a girl' are used to mean something bad, it is profoundly disempowering. I am proud to partner with Always to shed light on how this simple phrase can have a significant and long-lasting impact on girls and women. I am excited to be a part of the movement to redefine 'like a girl' into a positive affirmation."

Polly Morgan is a Lecturer in Law at the University of East Anglia School of Law. UAE is located in Norfolk, England. She recently answered these questions for Feminist Law Professors.

What is your educational and professional background?

I hold an undergraduate degree in law, a master’s degree in family law and policy, and also the professional qualifications to practise law as a solicitor. (In the UK, Law is an undergraduate degree followed by a further stage of more practical procedural training to become either a solicitor or a barrister.) I spent about eight years in practice as a family solicitor, which culminated in my co-founding my own specialist family law firm. However, in 2012 I was approached to teach family law at the University of East Anglia, and am now full-time faculty. I do not regret leaving practice, although I sometimes miss being obliquely rude in that way that lawyers can do so well.

In response to coverage of university mistreatment of sexual assault survivors, many observers have wondered why schools handle these crimes at all: why not just leave it to the police? Here’s the answer in a couple easy bullet points.

Beaufort, South Carolina: July 17, 2014, A police officer pled guilty to simple assault against his 10-year-old stepdaughter, then resigned from the police department. According to warrants, he slapped her on the right side of her head. http://ow.ly/zkrDR

Charleston County, South Carolina: July 17, 2014, The sheriff’s office says a detective was fired after an internal investigation discovered that the officer had a sexual relationship with a murder suspect’s mother and lied about it. http://ow.ly/zkthZ

Tuscaloosa, Alabama: July 18, 2014, A police officer has been arrested on a domestic violence charge for the second time in two years. After speaking with the victim and the suspect, officers found probable cause to charge the officer with third degree domestic violence criminal coercion. http://ow.ly/zktCr

Montgomery, Alabama: July 16, 2014, A police officer is being charged with domestic violence following an arrest, according to the department. http://ow.ly/zk7cE

Irwindale, California , July 15, 2014, A now-former police officer denied molesting a 14-year-old police Explorer. He pled not guilty to using a minor for sex acts, sending harmful matter, oral copulation of a person under 16, sexual penetration by a foreign object and two counts of contact with a minor for sexual offense. http://ow.ly/zjvTR

: Berthoud, Colorado July 14, 2014,: A now-fired police officer was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and 30 days in a jail work-release program for physically abusing a 15-year-old girl for years. http://ow.ly/zjiH4

New Orleans, Louisiana: July 14, 2014, A police officer accused of trying to kill his girlfriend pled not guilty to charges of attempted second-degree murder and simple battery. http://ow.ly/zeURO

New Orleans, Louisiana: July 14, 2014,A second police officer has been charged with a felony stemming from an alleged domestic matter. http://ow.ly/zeWTq

Loveland, Colorado, July 14, 2014, Fired Berthoud police officer Jeremy Yachik was sentenced Monday to three years of supervised probation and 30 days in a jail work-release program for physically abusing a 15-year-old girl. A Larimer County judge also ordered Yachik to perform 80 hours of community service and to undergo a domestic violence evaluation to determine if he will be required to participate in a domestic violence-treatment program.

According to court records, the girl told Loveland police investigators that Yachik abused her almost daily for years. The abuse allegedly included restraining her hands with handcuffs or plastic zip ties and then slamming her head into a wall hard enough to leave a hole and choking her until she blacked out, according to a Loveland Police Department arrest affidavit. The girl also said he beat her with ropes, restricted her food, shackled her in a darkened room for hours and force-fed her “ghost pepper sauce” that’s roughly 10 times hotter than habanero peppers, the affidavit said. During a voluntary Sept. 27 interview with Loveland investigators, Yachik, who is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 270 pounds, admitted doing many of these things to the girl, the affidavit said. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/fired-berthoud-police-of...

Cleveland, Ohio: July 11, 2014,A police officer was arrested and charged with two counts of sexual conduct with a minor 10 years or older. He is also charged with four counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, according to the court website. http://ow.ly/zby0c

Memphis, Tennessee, July 12, 2014, A now-former police officer has been convicted of two counts of rape involving a student from Rhodes College. He was also charged with three counts of assault and four counts of official misconduct. http://ow.ly/zf8hY

Placer County, California,: July 11, 2014, A decorated sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on suspicion of having sex with a teen who was volunteering at his department, according to authorities. http://ow.ly/z9ac1

Washington, DC, July 11, 2014, A now-former police officer has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a girl who participated in his church choir. After he gets out of prison he will have to register as a sex offender. http://ow.ly/z8VcM

Since 2006 when Europe closed its borders, human trafficking has burgeoned in Egypt’s Sinai Desert, where Eritrean asylum seekers and refugees heading north to Israel are kidnapped, held hostage, and tortured by Bedouin smugglers demanding exorbitant ransoms for their freedom. Fleeing an oppressive military dictatorship at home, with a “shoot-to-kill” policy at the border and where only pregnant women are exempted from service, over 300,000 Eritreans have fled their homeland in North Africa. Many of these men, women and children die in Sinai’s torture camps.

This powerful documentary intimately follows Swedish-Eritrean journalist Meron Estefanos and her efforts to aid the hostages and their families. From Stockholm she runs a popular online radio show, fielding calls for help from Eritrean victims and their relatives. Her activism takes her to Israel and Egypt’s Sinai Desert to seek the release of a badly abused young woman held captive with her baby and to search for another who disappeared along the Egyptian-Israeli border after her ransom had been paid. Both eloquent and harrowing, SOUND OF TORTURE spotlights one of today’s most underreported human rights violations and the one woman who is making it her mission to create change.MORE HERE

Since October 2013, more than 52,000 children, most from Central America and unaccompanied by adults, have crossed the Southwest border into the United States, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That’s nearly double last year’s total and 10 times the number from 2009. Administration officials have called it “an urgent humanitarian situation.”

Maria Woltjen discussed the latest crisis with UChicago News. She heads the University of Chicago Law School’s Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights Clinic, a national initiative that provides child protection advocates for unaccompanied immigrant children detained by the federal government.

What has caused the recent surge of unaccompanied children crossing the Southwest border into the United States?